I feel very caught up in the dynamic fluidity of Mo Dotti's Guided Imagery. It would be easy for a CA shoegaze group to spam you with MVB feedback and call it a night, but that's not at all what's happening here. Their songs emit the requisite level of amplifier afterburn while still remaining comfortably cool. When listening to Guided Imagery I can feel the sound of the mix seeping in around me like I'm a slice of apple in a gold-flecked mold of jello. It moves with me but always retains its essential figure and a firm boundary. It's the definition of flexibility, able to jostle and transform as the moment suits it, but without compromising its integrity. In terms of sonic touchtones, Mo Dotti is definitely in range to wet the tail feathers of the Cocteau Twins with a splash of Curve and then pat it dry with a swatch of Lush's verdant '60s-inspired jangle. The '90s alt. by way of flower child cult certainly bleeds through on "All Dressed Up In Dreams" and the wholesome ripper of "Loser Smile," while giving way to spindling metronomic introspection on the lanky creep of "Hurting Slowly." If Guided by Voices could have kept their focus for more than a minute and a half when making Alien Lanes they might have been able to make a little masterpiece like this. Mo Dotti isn't shy about showing up their predecessor while displaying a future vision of rich dream pop that is more elegant in structure and content and organic in form than could have been predicted from the trajectory of many of their contemporaries. Guided Imagery, pioneering sound.
